<p>In case anyone is interested, the 2010-11 reports are up by state:</p>
<p>College-Bound Juniors 2010 - PSAT/NMSQT</p>
<p>^Link? 10char</p>
<p>[College-Bound</a> Juniors & Sophomores 2010 - PSAT/NMSQT](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/psat/cb-jr-soph]College-Bound”>SAT Suite of Assessments – Reports | College Board)</p>
<p>I couldn’t find enough detail information on combined score to give an indication what the cutoff will be for Semi-Finalist for our state. Did you find that anywhere?</p>
<p>I think the only thing you can do with this information is look at the the previous year and compare each category with the performance of this year’s takers. What state are you looking at?</p>
<p>Thanks for posting the link.
I’m looking at Maryland and comparing the percentage of students in the 75-80 range in 2009 versus 2010. Here is the data.
2009
CR 1.0%
M 1.4%
W .7%</p>
<p>2010
CR 1.1%
M 1.6%
W 1.4%</p>
<p>In 2009 the Maryland NMSF cutoff was 220. What do you think it will be for those who took the test in 2010? Looks like it should go up.<br>
And one more question: If the cutoff is 220 and you scored 220, are you a semifinalist or or do you need to score 221?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>If the cut-off is 220 and you made a 220 your are a NMSF. I looked at the top 2 spots in each category, 75-80 and 70-74 for Maryland. The 75-80 did increase some, not a lot, but the 70-74 decreased significantly in both CR and W. My guess is that it will stay the same (given of course all the other variables stay the same, i.e., number of NMSF allocated for your state don’t decrease). This is purely a guess. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Do the allocations change from year to year? Aren’t they top 1% in the state?</p>
<p>I am looking at MA. Last year the cutoff was 221. I got a 220 this year.
Looking at the report it appears top scores went down this year in MA.</p>
<p>2009
CR 1.3%
M 2.6%
W 1.4%</p>
<p>2010
CR 1.1%
M 1.9%
W 1.2%</p>
<p>They don’t give enough detail - 75-80 is a wide range and they don’t give the composite range. I will probably be on the bubble. Worst part is Soph year I got a 226.</p>
<p>They allow so many NMSF per state based on the graduating population. In some states, being in the top 97% nationally, IS the top 1% in that state.</p>
<p>As far as MA, I think the cut-off for 2011 is 223. It was 221 for 2010.</p>
<p>ami6210 where did you come up with the 2011 cut-off for MA? Do you have inside knowledge? It was 221 for 2010 and the %s of MA Jr’s that got 75-80 went down in each section. How does the SF cut-off go up?</p>
<p>I don’t believe the # of SF’s per state has anything to do with the graduating population. In reading the Nation Merit Scholarship information it mentions top 1% from each state of the Jr’s who took that test from that state that year.</p>
<p>I am sorry for the confustion. Here is a link to the cut-offs for the Class of 2011. For the Class of 2010 the cut-off was 221 (you can find that info by previous CC posts). The cut-off for the Class of 2012 hasn’t been determined yet, so, no, I do not have inside information, LOL.</p>
<p>And, yes, after talking with NM, each state is allocated a certain number of NMSF’s based on graduating population, even though not everyone takes the test. If it were not figured like that, then states like Arkansas would not have any, or very few, NMSF’s. A 96% in AR is pretty much what it takes to be NMSF in that state. That certainly wouldn’t represent the top 1% in MA, but, it would represent the top 1% in AR.</p>
<p>any way to tell what the Commended cutoff will be? I got a 201 this year</p>
<p>^onecot59 - Here is link:</p>
<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html]National”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html)</p>
<p>^cortana431 - It’s really hard to say. For the Class of 2011, a 201 was at the bottom of the 97th%. The bottom of the 97th% for 2012 is a 203. That being said, it has been 201 for at least 2 years in a row. I do know in 2007 it was 203.</p>
<p>Do the allocated numbers to states change a lot from year to year? In my state, % went down in every category, CR, M, and W for both 75-80 and 70-74 ranges. Would it be safe to assume the cut-off will remain the same or go down?</p>
<p>It really depends on the state. For the state of Louisiana, the number of NMSF’s was reduced from approx 227 to approx 160+. Because of Hurricane Katrina, the state had a lot of people move from New Orleans to other states, thereby reducing the number of graduates, resulting in a lower number of NMSF’s allotted for the state. The cut-off from 2010 to 2011 went up from 207 to 210 because of this. This obviously is an extreme circumstance.</p>
<p>To answer the 2nd part of your question, I think (believe me, I am no expert but I have been looking historically at many states), if every other variable stays the same, that if those two levels have gone down in every category, depending on the decrease, the score should either stay the same or decrease.</p>
<p>ami thanks for the info. I was previously looking at the results for the graduating class of 2010. I see that MA went up in 2011. Not looking good for 220 for 2012. I hope it is much higher so I don’t missed by 1 point. Soph year 226 was a shoe in but just got the score the wrong year. Hard to understand that one.</p>